At the age of 6 I began to study in a girls’ school, I remember that my father took me to school and always told me to behave well, to learn a lot in order to be successful. I have 2 sisters and 2 brothers, I remember very little how things happened but I always saw my mother cry because my father had to leave but I never understood that my father had to migrate to another country due to economic needs, my whole family went through a sadness process my mom had to take care of us, see the house and be responsible for everything, on the other hand my dad worked from afar to give us a better life.
At the age of 12, I started secondary school, I adapted to another space and I set myself very demanding goals, I didn’t care about anything, just studying, one day the director of my educational center took me to an activity for adolescents where they received training in children’s rights and adolescence, I was actively participating until I was elected as a defender of the rights of children and adolescents in the municipality and my life underwent a totally extraordinary change. I realized that Guatemala was going through different social problems, I understood that migration was a social problem that it only separates families but also leaves gaps, traumas, loneliness, anguish, fear and depression.
Years passed and I continued training in human rights, political advocacy and the arts until I became a social activist and artist. I met many people who helped me learn more about migration, its causes, its consequences and its history, in the year In 2019 the idea of creating a project called ¨Here We Deserve Future¨ was born, which empowers adolescents, youth, adult women and men on the subject of migration and human rights with artistic tools such as: body poetry, theater, dance and meditation. I had the opportunity to represent Guatemala in Chile, Cepal United Nations and I was the voice of thousands of migrants with frustrated dreams, make visible the migrant community that has had to migrate for different reasons and who have been violated and have been called illegal, I dream of turning Guatemala into a country full of art that transforms realities and turns dreams into reality, because art saved me, and I want art to save you.
History written by:
Maria Hermelinda Velasquez Chavez 20 años
Guatemala, Centroamérica